Women in Trades

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Diversity and Inclusion in the Building Trades Career

Considering a Career in the Trades?

The Central Iowa Building and Construction Trades Council is committed to expanding union construction career opportunities for women and advocating for diversity and inclusion in the union construction workforce.

Registered Apprenticeship programs in Iowa offer state-of-the-art training in over a dozen skilled construction trades, with paid on-the-job instruction as well as tuition-free classroom training, resulting in an industry-recognized credential that is respected nationwide. These programs meet U.S. Department of Labor guidelines and are typically one to five-year programs. Apprentices in joint labor-management (union) apprenticeship programs earn scheduled raises, health insurance, and retirement benefits as they advance through the program.

Whether you are interested in becoming a bricklayer, carpenter, electrician, insulator, iron worker, laborer, roofer, operating engineer, painter, plumber or pipefitter, sheet metal worker, or cement mason you can learn more about the skilled trades and their apprenticeship programs by contacting us or or this guide from the Iowa College Access Network.

Uniting the Tradeswomen who are

Building Iowa's Future

The Iowa Women in Trades network is a statewide community of construction tradeswomen who are building a secure economic future for ourselves and our families, linking more women with apprenticeship training opportunities, promoting equity and respect on the jobsite, and sharing resources for tradeswomen’s success. Iowa Women in Trades holds monthly meetings and plans leadership events in partnership with the University of Iowa Labor Center, the Iowa State Building and Construction Trades Council and local building trades unions, and Registered Apprenticeship programs across the state to promote pathways for women’s success in construction careers.

The Iowa Women in Trades Network promotes leadership and peer networks among tradeswomen while developing programs to recruit and retain women in the skilled trades, including:

Monthly statewide meetings with skilled trades guest speakers
Actively recruiting women to Apprenticeship Readiness Courses
Mentoring discussions linking women journey-worker, apprentices, and preapprentices
Annual Statewide Women in Trades Leadership Summit

Looking for Resources to Promote Equity, Respect, and Tradeswomen's Success on the Job?

The Iowa Women in Trades Network also works to compile resources for tradeswomen, unions, and construction employers to promote safe, productive, and respectful jobsites. In addition to classes and conferences hosted by the University of Iowa Labor Center, several longstanding tradeswomen’s initiatives across the country maintain great online resources such as:

The Chicago Women in Trades and its The National Center for Women’s Equity in Apprenticeship and Employment offers online reports, best practice guides, and other materials on its website

The Policy Group on Tradeswomen’s Issues (a collaboration of over 70 stakeholders based in Boston) has online guides, one-page resources, and reports

The National Taskforce on Tradeswomen’s Issues (a national coalition of organizations and individual tradeswomen members) maintains a website with links to a variety of national resources

Respect, Inclusion, Safety, and Equity in the Construction Trades (RISEUp) is a project developed by Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Employment for Women (ANEW) to provide consulting, training, and online resources for tradeswomen, unions, and contractors

The U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau website offers data, reports, and resources on women's employment, with a page devoted to women in apprenticeship

A few other tradeswomen's organizations include: Central Ohio Women in the Trade, Nontraditional Employment for Women, Oregon Tradeswoman, Pride and a Paycheck, Tradeswomen, Inc., Utah Women in the Trades, Women in Non-Traditional Employment Roles

Tradeswomen Build Nations, North America's Building Trades Unions is a large annual conference of union tradeswomen from across the continent

Are you a tradeswoman in Central Iowa or interested in the trades but not sure where to start? Join our group on Facebook to connect and learn about upcoming events! We are proud to partner with the Iowa Women in Trades Network associated with University of Iowa Labor Center.

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